


A Flickering Flame

by arka_r



Category: One Piece
Genre: Angst, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-02-15
Updated: 2012-02-15
Packaged: 2017-10-31 05:48:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 820
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/340609
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arka_r/pseuds/arka_r
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>People said the way a man lived can be seen from those who affected by his death. What about Portgas D. Ace's death? 100-words drabbles.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Flickering Flame

**Author's Note:**

> Old drabbles, probably one of my oldest works. Believe me... 95% of myself doesn't want Ace to die.

Ace: Without Regret

You promised: you will live your life without regret.

You did it. No regret, until your death.

Not for not running away when there's a chance, because you knew you wouldn't live in peace with someone rubbing dirt to your father's face.

Not for dying right before your little brother's very eyes in order to safe his life, because you knew your beloved little brother will not drown in grief over your death for too long.

You knew the flame inside you flickering, fading.

You has no regret, because you knew you was loved.

And you always be loved.

Forever.

—

Whitebeard: A Father's Anger

Nothing's right when you saw your son's death. It supposed to be the father to die before his son, not the opposite. It should be your duty as father to protect your son —and you failed.

Yet you knew it was too late. You knew your son couldn't be saved. Your son soon will die, in order to protect someone important.

Your eyes filled with both anger and sadness seeing your son lying on his own pool of blood. You couldn't hold back anymore seeing your son's murderer living, while your son wasn't.

Blinded with pure rage, you charged forward.

—

Jinbe: The Promise

"If something happens to me, please take care of my brother."

As you shot your eyes open, you recognized it was no dream. Everything was real. As real as your pain.

You turned your head slightly, only to catch the glimpse of someone lay next to you. Someone you had promised to take care of. So you made it somehow. You did bring Straw Hat Luffy out of that hellish battleground. Mentally collapsed, but still physically in one piece.

You gripped your hands.

" You can rest now, Ace-kun... From now, I will take care of your brother. I promise..."

—

Garp: Why

This is too much for him. He can't stand the grief.

Why you didn't run?

He gave you the chance, once. He let your brother hit him, to save you. To do what he cannot do.

Why you didn't become Marine?

Go to hell with your bloodline. Whose care? As long as you near, he can always protect you.

Why can't he save you?

Why can't he kill your murderer?

Why...

"Are you sure, Garp?" Sengoku asked.

"I become too old, Old Friend", Garp replied, laughed.

What's the point of become Marine if he can't protect those dear for him?

—

Dadan: A Mother's Sadness

She has been in this foul mood for days. Alcohol doesn't help her. Nor beating Garp does.

So, the brat died.

Two brats, she used to take care of. She raised the two, watched them grow. Unwillingly, at first. But she couldn't deny she loved them. Worried for their well-being. Whenever she tried to remember each time she spent with the brats, she can't. It's countless.

So she gazed, silently, at the room the two used to sleep. She remembered how noisy the two was.

"Do you think I'm a good mother..." she asked. "... brats?"

The question stays unanswered.

—

Vivi: Absurdity

She met him once.

It was a short meeting. Ace-san was a nice man. Kinda surprised her compared to his little brother. From their short talk at the desert, he knew the man loved his brother. So do his brother to him. Thinking that very man now was already gone, is somewhat absurd.

She didn't cry. Yet, she could feel the loss.

It made her heart aches to think about Luffy-san's pain. Months passed since they parted, but she still believes they're forever friend.

Friends, to share the laugh, the tears.

The lives.

"Luffy-san, please be strong..."

—

Marco: Inherited Will

You still stood unmoved.

Gazing over two gravestones right before your eyes, you knew somewhere deep inside you snapped once again.

It was your grief.

You'd lost too much. Your brethren in battle. Your father.

However, you knew you have no right to fall here. You have to stand still and lead your brethren in replace of your father. You have to watch over for the one who inherited your brother's will. You knew he's somewhere there outside; living, keep standing, enduring the same pain with you.

"I'm going to wait you at New World...", he spoke silently. "... Ace's brother."

—

Luffy: Stand Up Again

"I have my nakama..."

Tears stained his face. The lost he suffered. He has to endure it all. He has to be strong.

"I have my nakama who isn't strong. So I have to be stronger to protect them!"

He remembered the words he had said back then at Enies Lobby. Yes, it is. He has to be strong. He has to stand up on his own feet again. He has to live on.

"I have to be stronger... Then, together with my nakama, I will become Pirate King..."

Then, he put his signature straw hat on and walk again.

—


End file.
